Drills, clocks and lamps

Here we go again – making smart inventions by combining old and well-known concepts is an extremely productive innovation method. The Greener Gadgets Design Competition 2008, which is arranged by the magazine Core 77, attracted many solutions of this kind. I especially like the two floorlamps Krank by Efrain Velez, and Gravia by Clay Moulton.

The design of Krank is simply a lamp combined with the form and function of an old fashioned mechanical drill. This also makes it obvious how it’s used - when you turn it manually it’s charged through magnetic induction and it lights up your room for 40-60 minutes.

Gravia is also powered by the user but in the form of potential energy. A weight is lifted and as gravity slowly pulls it downwards it powers a mechanism that generates electricity for four hours of light. And here is the intersection: The idea for Gravia comes from the wind-up principle of old clocks.

 

Products like these seem so obvious that you wonder why they haven’t been made before. But they also make you realize that there are still many connections to be made – still many intersections to step into.

/Kristian Ribberström